Notes from peHUB Cleantech Event
Great to see so many of you come out last night, for peHUB's Boston cleantech event. The specific focus was on federal financing and regulatory issues. A few quick takeaways from the panel (from memory, since it’s hard to take comprehensive notes and moderate at the same time): * Lot of discussion about how cleantech is a difficult business for early-stage investment, in that company maturation can push the limits of a traditional VC fund structure. Roger Berry of C Change Investments noted that some infrastructure funds in Europe are actually proposing 15-year or 20-year investment cycles. Hadn’t heard that before. Would make sense from the perspective of matching the money to the opportunity, but I’m not sure any LP would be willing to assume that a core group of partners would stick together for two decades (particularly given that anyone worth investing in for that long already has some career miles under their belt). * Most panelists believed some sort of climate bill would pass this year, although not much agreement on its contents (concerns that divisive healthcare debate is setting the stage for divisive energy debate). Also heard a few comments about how something like a Green Bank would make renewable energy companies more competitive with oil & gas, which already receive massive federal subsisidies.
